Romania: Doctors and nurses demand better pay

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Thousands of doctors and nurses have marched through Bucharest demanding better salaries and working conditions for employees of the beleaguered health system.

Those protesting are demanding that the government increases its spending for the health system from 4 to 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

The Romanian College of Doctors says that some 3,000 doctors emigrate every year to work abroad where they get better salaries and working conditions. Beginner doctors earn less than euros 200 (USD 275) a month and informal payments and bribes are rife in the system.